Four grain cooperatives were recognized by GROWMARK, Inc. with the Ceres award during the 2014 Grain Leadership Conference.

The award, named for the Roman goddess of grain, is awarded to grain cooperatives that achieve excellence by meeting at least three out of the four following criteria: EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)/per storage capacity, return on invested capital, bushel retention, and GROWMARK's capital guideline ratio.